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FSC 55
September 2013 sees the 55th edition of FSC. It's held in Lucerne, Switzerland after Anna Rossinelli won the 54th edition of FSC with a song called "Let It Go". 40 juries participate in this edition. Belarus, Macedonia and Malaysia returned to the stage. Portugal however, didn't send an entry. The Host City The Host city for this FSC-edition is Lucerne, or Luzern (Lozärn in local dialect), a city in north-central Switzerland in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne, and the capital of the district of the same name.With a population of around 76,000 people Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, 7 th largest in Switzerland, a nexus of transportation , telecommunications and government of this region. The city's urban area consists of 17 cities & towns located in three different cantons with an overall population of about 250,000 people. Due to its location on the shore of 'Lake Lucerne' (der Vierwaldstättersee), within sight of Mount Pilatus (a mountain overlooking the city, it is composed of several summits of which the highest (2,128 m) is named ‘Tomlishorn’; another summit, named ‘Esel’ (2,119 m) , lies just over the railway station) and Mt. Rigi (another majestic mountain) in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne has long been a very popular destination for tourists, and visitors from all over. The history of Lucerne goes back to the pre-Middle Ages. The area become known as Luciaria. In 1178 Lucerne acquired its independence from the jurisdiction of 'Murbach Abbey'(a Benedictine Monastery in the Alsace region), and the founding of the city proper prob-ably occurred the same year . The city got importance, as a strategically located gateway for the growing commerce from the 'Gotthard trade route'. In 1332, in a protest against increasing 'Habsburg' influence in the region Lucerne and the three other forest cantons of Uri , Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the "eternal" 'Swiss Confederacy' known as the Eidgenossenschaft. Later the cities of Zürich, Zug and Bern joined the alliance. A Catholic city through the Protestant Reformation in the late Middle Ages, Lucerne was a center of power & prominence , until the 'Protestant wave' washed over the country around 1700 (cf the second Villmerg War) and the city lost its prominent position in the Confederacy.In 1798 , nine years after the start of the 'French Revolution' the French army marched into Switzerland. The old Confederacy collapsed, & the government became democratic.The industrial revolution hit Lucerne rather late and by 1860 only 1.7% of the population worked in industry which was about a quarter of the national average at that time. Agriculture which employed about 40% of the workers, was the main form of economic output in the canton. Nevertheless , industry was attracted to the city, from areas around Lucerne. From 1850-1913 the population quadrupled and the flow of settlers increased. In 1856, trains first linked the city to Olten and Basel, then to Zug and Zürich in 1864. The twin needle towers of the ’Church of St. Leodegar’ , which was named after the city's patron saint sit on a small hill just above the lake front. Originally built in 735 the present structure was erected in 1633 in the late Renaissance style. However the towers are surviving remnants of an earlier structure. The interior is richly decorated. The church is populularly called the ’Hofkirche’ (German) & known locally as the ‘Hofchele’ (in Swiss-German)Bertel Thorvaldsen's ( a Danish sculptor of international fame ) famous carving of a dying lion (the ‘Lion Monument’ 1819, or Löwendenkmal) is found, in a small park just off the Lowenplatz. The carving commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards, who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution , when the mob stormed the Tuileries Palace inParis. ‘The Swiss Museum of Transport’ is a large and comprehensive museum, exhibiting all forms of transport , including locomotives , automobiles, ships , and aircraft. It is to be found beside the lake in the northern section of the city. Another very famous building in Lucerne is the great Catholic Jesuitenkirche (the ‘Jesuit Church’) , the first large baroque church built in Switzerland north of the alps. Lucerne also houses a variety of museums &art-galleries, including the 'Richard Wagner Museum' , residence of the famous composer from 1866 to 1872 which gives the visitor an overview of his principal work/compositions. Besides 'Luzerner Fasnacht', the city hosts various renowned festivals throughout the year. 'The Lucerne Festival for classical music' takes place in the summer. Its orchestra, the ‘Lucerne Festival Orchestra’ is hand-picked, from some of the finest instrumentalists in the world. In June yearly the pop music festival B-Sides takes place in Lucerne. In July , the ‘Blue Balls Festival’ brings jazz , blues, and punk music to the lake promenade , and halls of the Culture and Convention Center. The Lucerne Blues Festival is another musical festival which usually takes place in November. Since spring of 2004, Lucerne has hosted the ‘Festival Rose d'Or’ for television entertainment And in April the well-established comics festival , ‘Fumetto’ attracts an international audience. Being the cultural center of a rural region, Lucerne regularly holds different 'folklore festivals' , like 'Lucerne Cheese Festival' held yearly. In 2004 Lucerne was the focus of Swiss Wrestling fans when it hosted the ‘Swiss Wrestling and Alpine festival’ (Eidgenössisches Schwing-und Älplerfest), which takes place every 3 years in a different location . A national music festival (Eidgenössiches Musikfest) attracted bands from all parts of Switzerland in 2006. In summer 2008, the jodelling festival (Eidgenössisches Jodlerfest) had a similar impact. Lucerne is also a city of sports . There are several football clubs throughout the city . The most successful one is : 'FC Luzern' , which plays, in Switzerland's premier league ( Swiss Super League ) . The club plays its home matches at the new Swisspor arena , with a capacity of 16,800. In the past , Lucerne also produced national successes in men's handball and women's volleyball and softball. Having a long tradition of equestrian sports, Lucerne has co-hosted CSIO Switzerland, an international equestrian show jumping event, until it left entirely for St. Gallen in 2006. Since then, the Lucerne Equestrian Masters replaced it. There is also an annual horse racing event, usually taking place in August. Lucerne yearly hosts the final leg of the 'Rowing World Cup' on Rotsee Lake, and has hosted numerousWorld Rowing Championships, among others the first ever in 1962. Lucerne, hosts , the annual 'Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern Track and field meeting' , which attracts world class athletes. The Lucerne Eagles are the baseball and softball team of Lucerne . The city also provides facilities for ice-hockey, basketball, figure skating, swimming, climbing and more. The Venue The Host venue for FSC September 2013, is - the KKL Lucerne Concert Hall, a part of the famous Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre . The Concert Hall hosted itsfirst public performance. with the opening of the 1998 Lucerne International MusicFestivalSituated on the picturesque Vierwaldstättersee shore the facility is also known by the ac-ronym of its German name, KKL (Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern) . It also containsa flexible performance and banquet space, the Lucerne Hall, as well as museum and exhibition space, meeting rooms, restaurants, and a rehearsal hall. It is home of the renownedLucerne Music Festival , a fiveweek classical musicfestival which draws many of the world'sfinest orchestras & soloists each summer . The Concert Hall's 1840 seats, are distributedamong its main floor and four balconies, thereby keeping the scale of the room visually, &orally intimate. The hall accommodates symphonic, choral, jazz, folk and popular music inaddition to plenary conferencesessions To accommodate a wide variety of events the concert hall features a 7000 m3 acoustics control chamber around the perimeter of the hall .This is used in conjunction with heavy, sound-absorbing curtains that can be deployed infront of each wall surface to reduce the natural liveness of the hall for amplified events &a two-piece vertically moving acoustical canopy above the performance platform, in orderto adjust the room's acoustical environment , to suit the complete sound performance . The Hosts Marco Rima (born 1961 in Winterthur. , Canton of Zürich) is a Swiss actor, cabaret-artist and comedian. He received his first award in 1990 (gold record for ‘Cabaret Marco Cello’ ,together with Marcello Weber). From 1996-1999, he was a member of the ”WochenshowTeam” on T which gained him fame in Germany. In particular the characters he portrayed Grandpa Adolf Frey and Horst Lemminger gained considerable popularity. He received the Prix Walo award four times: in 1993 as the most popular entertainer in 1994 in the category Theatre / Musical in 1999 and 2003 as the most popular entertainer in the category of ‘cabaret and comedy’.Marco Rima was formerly a primary school teacher but has since also starred in several movies and television films (among the more famous are 'Achtungfertig, Charlie!'(2003), 'Handyman' (2006) and 'Liebling , lass' uns scheiden..' (2010). He has also on many occasions through the years taken part in the 'Arosa Humour Festival' Tina Turner (born 1939, in Tennessee, USA) is a famous singer, dancer, actress , author and choreographer , whose big career has spanned more than half a century earning her widespread recognition & numerous awards . Born and raised, in the United States , she lives (since many years) in Switzerland , & holds Swiss citizenship as of April 2013 . Tina Turner moved to St. Louis , Missouri, in the 1950s , and met Ike Turner (whom she later married) , a musician with whom she began to perform and to record . They had musicalsuccess in the 1960s . She started a successful solo-career in the 1980s with many hits and countless live performances around the world, and has since been inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame . Tina has made music for movie soundtracks , and, has also appeared in many films. In 2008 she embarked on her - ’Tina! 50th Anniversary Tour’ -It became one of the highest selling ticketed shows of 2008/2009 . She recently married her longtime partner German record executive Erwin Bach. They live in Küsnacht, Zürich. The Interval Act We are also pleased to announce the interval act: The talented, world famous Swiss electronic music band Yello performing one of their classic songs: ’The Race’ The Show The Results The Winner Sara Bareilles - Brave: